Starting from scratch, List of things to get?

[Aimz]

Mel and Kerry I have emailed you the list this morning. Leeanne (blueiris) you did PM me but you forgot to include your email!! If you PM your address I will be happy to send it.

This is such a fantastic thread!

[Phteven]

Car seat, nappies, clothes, boobs and arms :P

[sushee]

Car seat, nappies, clothes, boobs and arms :P

Lol! Chloe, so right there. I didn't need, nor did I expect to need, bottles or formula at all for any of my four kids as they were BFed, so why would I waste money on them?

Most things I found invaluable with one baby, I didn't even use with another. I think the most useful things are things I bought after baby was born when I could tell what I needed (eg a sling instead of a humungous pram!)

[luey]

Some of these aren't strictly nursery but are handy all the same

A chair for the nursery, doesn't have to be fancy. When we were (still) having sleep issues with my DS if I needed to cuddle him to sleep it provided somewhere for me to have a rest if I was allowed to sit. I need to get a new one as my current chair is a round cane one wihich can be hard to feed in. A friend bought a cheap lounge from Ikea, she said in the early days when her DD wouldn't sleep she curled up on it too.

If you are planning on feeding on the lounge, I do, havea big sheet, blanket or something to put over your lounge where you sit. I wasn't real good at putting the nappies on in hte early days or DS was a big weer/pooer and we had a few explosions. Not to mention the spills. So much easier to wash the blanket than sponging the lounge. Not to mention more hygienic.

I love my rocker - $39 from Babyco plus blends in with our lounge - shame about hte rest of the stuff . It doesn't have a bar over the top but I didn't like the toys on them anyway, plus it can go almost flat to sitting up quite high. My DS has slept in it lots especially when he was colicy. I was given a frame type thing which can go over it/him on floor or folds flat for him on his tummy. I wouldn't spend a lot as one friend found she has hardly used hers. Another friend has the Baby Bjorn one and finds she needs to rock it for her DD.

A play mat is great, is often given as a gift though but you can get away with a blanket and a few toys.

I love my brest friend feeding pillow, even though it's ugly, I still use it though dS is getting a bit big. I am able to feed in public without it, you need to make sure you can do that but I found it helped my confidence and got the attachment right.

Tommee Tippee Closer to nature bottles, just buy two (big ones to grow into if needed). I found these were the best for giving EBM. I live out in the country when we are on journeys I would give a bottle while he was in his seat and top him up with the boob and change his nappy at our rest stop. It saved a lot of time in the early days when a feed would take an hour.

Cloth nappies - towelling, at least a dozen, I have one over my change table cover, again easy to wash and catches some spills. Flanelette cloth nappies are good for puttin in his cot over the sheet to catch spills. Much smoother too than towelling and saves so much work than constantly changing sheets.

High chair from about 3months, DS always tends to be awake at meal times and I was using the rocker but he really enjoys seeing us and I think it is good to involve him in 'family meal time'.

Muslin wraps, get the big ones - Target have 100x100cm. I wasn't given as many as I thought I would, 3 thin hand me down ones. Even with 7 I would find I had to keep track of how many I had clean and when I needed to wash. They have so many uses that I doubt you will regret having too many - wrapping bubs, drying bubs, sunshade for pram/car, light cover, spew cloth if necessary etc.

Mesh washing bags, at least 3. BAby socks and baby clothes can get all tangled up and lost. So handy to put the socks in together and not lose any. I put them straight into one of these so they don't get lost in the basket.

Washing basket trolley - saves bending over and enables you to maneuver it even if you have had a CS. I ended up with an emerg CS but I imagine that a lot of bending over/stretching may be uncomfortable with a VB.

We have a baby bath with the moulding in the bottom so when he can sit I will still be able to use it. I think it was about $25, infa brand. I have just put an infaltable bath pillow on the flat end to stop my DS from gettin a concussion when he pushes off from the other end. WE are not able to use the normal bath as it is too deep for me to comfortably and safely bathe him. Plus we are on rain water so I liek to save as much water as possible

Lots of baby clothes hangers. You can get them quite cheap. In the early days I had a colour for each size and it made it a bit easier until I learnt what clothes were what size.

I found the bonds 00 singlets were the same size as kmart brand 000. I was given some hand me down 0000 but have mainly used the 000/00 from birth. It comes down over their butt and prevents ride up. My bub was 3.6kg though (7lb15) so not really tiny. I would have one or two 0000 and 6 or so 000. It all deprends how spewy your bub is and how often you want to wash

I bought 2 really nice neutral cotton suits, they were ribbed, from best and less. They were on special for $5. They are definately worth a look for bubs clothes and singlets/bodysuits. Plus they havecheap cotton knickers if you need some for after the birth - I got 10 for $10 - and Ib hardly needed them but better to be prepared.

Good luck

[blueiris]

amysarah,i've PM'd you.

The 2 things i want to get new is the pram & the cot,my friends are giving us a lot of stuff,she even got me some washable nursing pads from her work too. I also want t get a change table that converts into drawers or a bookcase,i've seen these at IKEA. To me i'd at least get my money's worth doing it this way as we'd have a piece of furniture once baby has outgrown the change table part of it.

With the bottles i not sure which brand to go for,i like the Tommy Tippee close to nature(silver packaging) & the Avent brands. A friend used the Avent & swears by them.

I think i will also buy a vaporiser just in case,i work in a pharmacy & we've been selling a lot of these lately for young kiddies. Might be something worth putting on a babyshower wish list if people are having a wish list.

[Aimz]

I've sent it to you blueiris!

[blueiris]

Thanks amysarah

[BellasBub]

Amysarah - I pmd you just now. Would love to hear from you.

Thanks!

Bella

[mellys bubby belly]

amysarah, I haven't rec'd a pm with your email details yet...is it still ok if you send it through again so I can take a squizzy at your list?

sorry to be a pain!!!

[bellelass]

I just read your first post so maybe I'm listing things other people have mentioned-

Thermometer shaped like a dummy

Breastpump (comes in so handy I didn't have one at first, mine is a tommiee tippee manual and it is good)

Bottles even if you intend to breastfeed. 3 or 4 should be good. Again, I used Tommee Tippee Back to Basics and my baby has had no problem switching from breast to bottle and back.

Grobags are good after they are a few months old. So good. Buy them online from Britain, that's the cheapest new I've found. My babe didn't like hers until about 3 months but since then its been indispensable. The 2.5 weight is good for weather right now (I live in Brissie, mind) and the lighter ones are good for summertime.

ETA- Blueiris, if you're buying a change table from Ikea, their Leksvik is a wonderful brand. We liked our change table so much we went back and bought a chest of drawers and bedside table in the same line. I'm trying to convince DH to get the bed, too. Beautiful timber, easy to work with, very attractive.

[Aimz]

Have PM'd you melly!

[tsgirl]

Hi amysarah, I'd love a copy of that list but I can't figure out how to pm you. If I click on your name there is nowhere for me to pm. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong

[Aimz]

Hi tsgirl, I can't PM you either! It may have something to do with you still being a newbie. Ask the mods (in the FAQ's forum) and I'm sure someone will be able to help you. Once its sorted I will be happy to PM you my email address.

[Shanti]

GREAT thread girls! I've been taking notes! Thank you....

Is it rude having a baby wish list for the baby shower? I'm thinking of having one myself (making a list for people) but wasn't sure if that's what people do.... suppose it's just like a wedding wish list really hey?? Are they common?

[Phteven]

Ren, some of the baby shops do a baby registry (I know babies galore does it). If you use one you can make sure that people don't double up. Same as a wedding it's kind to make sure that you have a wide range of options for prices so that if someone is struggling a bit they don't need to break the budget.

[Shanti]

okies thanks Dach, i'll keep that in mind for when we have the baby shower!
And yep very important to have gifts ranging from probably $5 right up to $60 i guess! i wouldnt want ppl spending much anyway. just want them coming to the baby shower really!

[mbear]

I would defn recommend a baby shower gift registry. My girlfriend had her baby shower a few months ago, didnt know the sex of baby, yet didnt have a registry. She got sooo many towels, huggies nappies, and soft toys.....when she really needed/wanted - bed linen, baby bath and singlets !!!!

I would be happy to get an invite to a baby shower and see a gift registry attached....i would rather get something the mum to be wants, KWIM ???

[LisaL]

Bibs, bibs and more bibs!! I find I used heaps of them at first, and lots of cloth nappies for over your shoulder when you burp little bub. I personally didnt feel the need for a sooper dooper baby monitor, TBH ive hardly used the one ive got.

Here are some other things I found really useful...

Muslin wraps for summer babies is a must, as are the normal cotton variety.

Cotton balls (for face / eye washing) in the first weeks.

Food for mummy!! Start preparing food that can be frozen, you will be thankful when you can just pull a meal out of the freezer on the days where you havent even gotten out of your PJ's or brushed you hair (yes, believe me, you will get those days at the beginning).

Someone else mentioned the nasal (saline) drops. Great for congested newborns!!

And dont forget some waterproof underlays for the cot/basinette, little babies like to pee lots and chuck heaps!

Face washers, great for bathing, wiping and generally keeping bub and mum clean.

Something musical and something with bold colours for bub to look at.

Good luck ladies........